Due to a leak on a ferry docked at the International Space Station ISS, a return flight too risky for the astronauts, an unmanned “lifeboat” has now been launched towards the ISS. Soyuz MS-23 lifted off from Russia’s Baikonur cosmodrome on Friday.
With about 430 kilograms of cargo on board for the crew, including medical supplies and equipment for scientific experiments, the capsule will dock at the ISS on Sunday at 02:01 CET. In September, the two Russian cosmonauts Sergei Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin and NASA astronaut Frank Rubio will return to Earth on MS-23. Originally, a return flight was scheduled for March. The MS-22 capsule, which was probably damaged by a micrometeorite, could meanwhile fly back unmanned from the ISS.
Extra load for Russian space program
The German astronaut Reinhold Ewald (66) did not want to speak of a “rescue mission”. “The crew is not stranded anywhere. Even if many systems fail, the Soyuz has ways and means to send the capsule home,” he told the German news agency. In a sense, the problems on Earth are greater than in space. “This is a major effort for Russian space travel. The Soyuz, which takes to the air unmanned, was intended for a crew. This is already a significant disruption of the order. Russia does not produce them for stock.”
Russia and the United States have been working closely together for more than 20 years on the space station about 400 kilometers above the earth, but exactly one year ago the relationship fell into a deep crisis due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. However, both countries continue to cooperate in space. Technically, the ISS is struggling with “foreseeable problems,” Ewald said. “Material fatigue is not so easy to stop.” According to the state agency TASS, the scientific and technical council of the Russian space agency Roskosmos decided a few days ago “after extensive consultations” to continue using the Russian part of the ISS until 2028.
In addition to Prokopjew, Petelin and Rubio are currently Nicole Mann, Josh Cassada, Koichi Wakata, and Anna Kikina – the so-called Crew 5 – aboard the ISS.
Source: Krone
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